Mental health can often be overlooked in Hispanic households, and with Wasco’s huge demographic of Latinos, one woman is bringing the support right here to the heart of the city.
“This is an opportunity to celebrate creativity while also raising awareness about mental health. It’s an opportunity to break stigma,” said co-founder of the event Veronica Jacuinde.
Veronica Jacuinde co-created Wasco’s World Bipolar Day event with Mayor Pro Tem Gilberto Reyna last year.
Her reasoning? She herself struggles with bipolar disorder and up until last year, she’s kept that part of her life to herself.
“Launching last years event really gave me the courage to come out for the first time,” said Jacuinde. “The idea is to let people know that mental health is important and you should not feel ashamed to seek help.”
With Wasco’s large demographic of hispanics and the stigmas surrounding mental health in households, Jacuinde hopes by bringing resource booths like NAMI directly to the city, more people will feel comfortable coming forward.
Co-founder Reyna says he’s seen the difference in the last year.
“As a result of last years festival, we were able to bring to Wasco a series of mental health workshops in collaboration with NAMI,” said Reyna. “They were attended by nearly 100 people.”
Aside from resource booths, the event will also feature art displays, food vendors, and a live painting recreating a piece by Vincent Van Gogh.
Festivities will take place Saturday, March 28 from 11 am to 4 pm in downtown Wasco, entry is free and open to all ages.
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